Activist sues Victorian government

Jewish community activist Menachem Vorchheimer has launched legal action against the Victorian state government at the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT), alleging systemic failure to address escalating antisemitism across the state.

The case accuses the Victorian government of enabling breaches of racial vilification laws through deliberate inaction despite having “express knowledge about incitement of hatred against Jews since October 2023”.

“Rather than act, it has made a conscious decision to enable incitement until it turned into violence, and that was an abrogation of its duties, and so therefore it is liable,” Vorchheimer stated.

He said he has made several freedom of information requests which have uncovered extensive correspondence to the office of Premier Jacinta Allan and Attorney-General Sonya Kilkenny from Jewish and non-Jewish Victorians raising safety concerns about antisemitic conduct.

The documents show “significant correspondence” highlighting “a variety of chants and conduct in the city that made the city unsafe for Jews”.